Twenty days after giving birth to her first child, a 27 year young mother was killed in heavy mortar shelling in Noona Bandi area of Shahpur along the Line of Control in Poonch on late Tuesday afternoon.
According to ground reports, “27-year-old Shamim Akhtar w/o Mohd Maqsood was standing in front of her kitchen when she was directly hit by a mortar shell around 3.45 p.m”. Due to impact of the blast, her head was reportedly blown off, local villagers in the forward area, claimed.
Her 20-day-old son, miraculously escaped any grievous injury, as she had kept him on the floor inside the kitchen.
As heavy shelling continued in the forward areas, another couple hailing from Qasba village of Poonch sector received injuries and was rushed to the nearby hospital. The injured were identified as Mnzoor Hussain and Naseema Akhtar.
Meanwhile, large number of children remained stranded for several hours inside a local school (seminary) run by Sain Miran Baksh Educational Trust in Shahpur area of Poonch.
In the wake of intense shelling, which started early Tuesday morning around 9.00 a.m the children could not be rescued. Local villagers and some parents, later in the afternoon managed to organise two ambulances and ferried children from the forward area to safer locations. “None of the child received injuries during heavy mortar shelling”,official sources said.
Defence PRO in Jammu, Lt-Col Devender Anand said, “Pakistan army initiated ceasefire violation in Qasba and Kirni sectors at about 9.30 a.m. by firing small arms and mortars”. He said, “the Indian Army retaliated befittingly”.
Late afternoon, the Pak Army also targeted forward areas of Shahpur and Karmara in the forward areas forcing the local residents to stay indoors.
The local villagers of Shahpur—Upper and Lower, Gountrian and Islamabad in Poonch appealed to the district authorities to expedite work on bunkers in the area to ensure safety of school going children and local villagers.
A Local villager, Shabir Rathore claimed, “these villagers were regularly targeted by the Pakistan army but so far work on bunker construction has not started in the area”.